Sefer ha-Bahir 164-165 -- the jealous steward and the Torah as water
Sefer ha-Bahir · The Book of Brilliance
ספר הבהיר · קסד-קסה
canonical late 12th c., Provence (ascribed to the 1st c. tanna) Hebrew Anonymous (attributed to Rabbi Nehunya ben ha-Kanah) tr. Hekhal Targum Project (machine-assisted draft; pending scholarly review)
The Adversary’s mechanism, and Elim. The jealous steward of the stone-treasury who destroys the weak houses to draw all to himself, and the name “Adversary” derived from “turning aside,” for he tilts the world toward guilt (§ 164); and the seventy palms merited by accepting the commandments, the twelve springs “returned as stones,” the Torah first like water and then fixed in place (§ 165).
A provisional scholarly draft, released openly for correction and not yet reviewed by a credentialed editor. The Hebrew is reproduced verbatim (§ 165 cites “and they came to Elim” as Exodus 15:16; the verse is at 15:27); the standard modern English translation (Kaplan, 1979) is under copyright.
ומאי מרויח יצה”ר, משל למה”ד למלך שהפקיד פקידים על מדינות מלכותו ועל מלאכתו ועל סחורתו, ועל כל אחד ואחד ממונה, על אוצרות המאכל הטוב, ואחד ממונה על אוצר האבנים, באו כל העולם לקנות מאוצרות מאכל הטוב, בא זה שממונה על אוצר האבנים וראה מה שקונין ממנו קנא, מה עשה, שלח שלוחיו להרוס הבתים החלשים, כי בחזקים לא יוכלו, אמר בין כך ובין כך שישתדלו להרוס בית אחד מן החזקים יהרסו עשרים מן החלשים ויבואו כולם ויבנו אבנים ממני ולא אהיה אני פחות מחבירי, הה”ד (ירמי’ א’ יד) מצפון תפתח הרעה על כל יושבי הארץ, ואח”כ (שם ט”ו) כי הנני קורא לכל משפחות ממלכות צפונה נאום ה’ ובאו ונתנו איש כסאו פתח שערי ירושלם וגו’, והרעה יהיה להם עסק, ושם יצה”ר ישתדל תמיד, ומאי משמע, דשטן לישנא דמטה הוא, שהוא מטה את כל העולם לכף חובה, וכתיב (בראשית ל’, ח טז) ויט אליה אל הדרך ומתרגם וסטה לותה, וכתיב (משלי ד טו) שטה מעליו ועבור:
And what does the evil inclination gain? A parable: to a king who appointed officials over the provinces of his kingdom, and over his work, and over his merchandise, and over each and every one an appointee: over the treasuries of good food, and one appointed over the treasury of stones. All the world came to buy from the treasuries of good food. This one who was appointed over the treasury of stones came and saw what they buy [from the others], and was jealous. What did he do? He sent his messengers to demolish the weak houses, for against the strong ones they could not [prevail]. He said: whether this way or that, let them strive to demolish one house of the strong, [and] they will demolish twenty of the weak, and all will come and build [with] stones from me, and I will not be less than my fellow. This is what is written (Jeremiah 1:14), ‘from the north the evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the earth,’ and afterward (ibid. 15), ‘for behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north, says the LORD, and they shall come and set each his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem,’ and so on — and the evil will be an occupation for them, and there the evil inclination will always strive. And what does this imply? That ‘the Adversary (satan)’ is from the language of ‘turning aside (mateh),’ for he turns the whole world to the scale of guilt; and it is written (Genesis 38:16), ‘and he turned aside to her, to the way,’ and we render [in the Targum] ‘and he turned aside (ve-sata) to her’; and it is written (Proverbs 4:15), ‘turn aside from it (sate me-alav) and pass on.‘
Provisional draft (pending scholarly review)
שבעים תמרים (שמות ט”ו כז) מאי טעם אלא קבלו עליהם המצות כדכתיב (שם כו) אם שמוע תשמע לקול ה’ אלהיך, מיד ויבואו אלימה (שם טז), מאי אלימה, אלי מה, ושם שתים עשרה עינות מים, הקב”ה נתן להם בתחילה עינות מים ואחר החזירם להם אבנים דכתיב (יהושע ד’ ט) ושתים עשרה אבנים, מאי טעמא, מפני שבתחילה היתה התורה בעולם נמשלת למים אח”כ נקבעה במקום קבוע, מה שאין המים עושין שהיום כאן ומחר להלן:
Seventy palm trees (Exodus 15:27) — what is the reason? Rather, they accepted upon themselves the commandments, as it is written (ibid. 26), ‘if you will diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD your God’; immediately, ‘and they came to Elim’ (ibid. 27) — what is ‘Elima’? ‘Eli mah’ (my God, what?) — ‘and there were twelve springs of water.’ The Holy One gave them at first springs of water, and afterward returned to them stones, as it is written (Joshua 4:9), ‘and twelve stones.’ What is the reason? Because at first the Torah in the world was likened to water, [and] afterward it was fixed in a fixed place — which the water does not do, [being] today here and tomorrow elsewhere.
Provisional draft (pending scholarly review)
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This edition sets the verbatim Hebrew beside a fresh English rendering and a critical apparatus: a running commentary on the passage, notes on the controlled vocabulary and the rendering chosen for each term, and cross-references to the lexicon and to related sections. It is a provisional scholarly draft, released openly for correction and not yet reviewed by a credentialed editor.
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the jealous steward and the Adversary as ‘the one who turns aside’
What does the evil inclination gain? A steward set over ‘the treasury of stones,’ jealous that all buy from the treasuries of good food, sends messengers to demolish the weak houses — reckoning that even to bring down one strong house, twenty weak ones fall, and all must then come to him. ‘From the north the evil shall break forth’ (Jeremiah 1:14); ‘I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north’ (Jeremiah 1:15). Sod: evil profits by ruin, and works most against the weak; the north (Gevurah / Din) is where the accusing power gathers. The name ‘the Adversary (satan)’ is glossed from the root n-t-h / s-t-h, ‘to turn aside’: he ‘turns the whole world to the scale of guilt’ — ‘he turned aside to her, to the way’ (Genesis 38:16), ‘turn aside from it and pass on’ (Proverbs 4:15).
the seventy palms, and the Torah as water then stone
The seventy palms of Elim were merited because Israel ‘accepted the commandments’ (Exodus 15:26). ‘And they came to Elim (Elima)’ is read ‘eli mah’ — ‘my God, what?’ The twelve springs of water were later ‘returned as stones’ — ‘and twelve stones’ (Joshua 4:9, the stones set up in the Jordan). Sod: at first the Torah was ‘like water,’ flowing and unfixed (‘today here, tomorrow elsewhere’); afterward it was ‘fixed in a fixed place’ — the living water given a permanent form, the Written Torah set in stone (cf. the two tablets, and Torah as water, §§ 136, 149).
Editorial decisions
- Exodus 15:27 citation. The verse ‘and they came to Elim, and there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees’ is Exodus 15:27; the source cites ‘and they came to Elim’ as Exodus 15:16 (a tet/kaf slip, 16 for 27). Rendered at the correct locus with the slip noted. (claude-opus-4-8[session-pipe], 2026-07-03)
- ha-satan rendered ‘the Adversary’. ha-satan is rendered ‘the Adversary’ (with the transliteration satan kept where the passage puns on the name); the Bahir derives it from the root of ‘turning aside (mateh / sata),’ the accusing power that tilts the world toward guilt. (claude-opus-4-8[session-pipe], 2026-07-03)
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